


Nott What I Expected

by Greye



Series: Lullabies for the Moon [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, FemaleHarry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 09:07:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10716393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greye/pseuds/Greye
Summary: Harriet Potter meets Theodore's mother...





	Nott What I Expected

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Lullaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Lullaby/gifts).



> Greye's Notes: For my dear sister, Lady_Lullaby. 
> 
> Here is the next story in this birthday series of oneshots. Please enjoy! (I mean that to anyone reading these as well!)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Harriet was nervous. Her fingers rapped anxiously against her knee as she sat ramrod straight in the antique Victorian-era chair. Her green eyes cast around the room, taking in everything. The old-style decor, the lending toward darker themes (ebony door frames, deep emerald drapes, black marble fireplace, etc.). The atmosphere felt heavy and dark. And Harriet had plenty of experience with "dark" things.

A hand covered hers.

Despite herself, Harriet smiled faintly and turned to the boy next to her. "It's going to be alright you know," came his light tenor voice. It was always steady, always reassuring. Something she admired in him. Theodore's dark eyes might be intimidating to some, but for her they held only warmth and refuge. "You're just meeting my mum. Father's not...here...anymore." Theodore finished somewhat uncomfortably, shrugging his shoulders under the heavy robes he wore. Now it was Harriet's turn to be reassuring. She patted his hand and smiled more genuinely.

"You're right, of course you are. And you're here with me. What could possibly go wrong?" Theo beamed back at her, and Harriet knew she'd said the right thing. She basked in his smile for a moment, momentarily forgetting where they were. A voice clearing behind them made her jump and she hastily pulled away from Theo on reflex, which she instantly regretted. Contact with him was the only thing keeping her nerves at bay. Seemingly reading her thoughts, she felt Theo's hand close around hers again. Harriet smiled, and managed to turn that genuine smile on the woman walking into the room behind them.

Harriet got to her feet, as did Theo, (that seemed the thing to do when the hostess entered a room in these kinds of places, Harriet reflected), and as she approached them Harriet studied Theo's mother. She was tall, like her son, but where Theo's dark eyes warmed his face, hers were cold and seemed to accentuate the angularity of her features. Her posture was perfectly erect, and she was primly dressed in a fine grey silk skirt and jacket ensemble that did little to soften her appearance. Harriet found herself inwardly surprised at Mrs. Nott's almost muggle appearance, and carefully hid that reaction from her face. She would have thought that for a family as ancient as the Notts...traditional dress would have been preferred.

She felt Mrs. Nott's eyes study her critically, almost with an undertone of...calculation, like she was sizing Harriet up for something. The girl felt perplexed. Sizing her up for what? Then the cold dark eyes flicked over to Theo and Harriet was surprised again to see them warm up, looking almost as warm and inviting as Theo's-though Harriet had no illusions that that warmth was for anyone but her son.

"Theodore!" Mrs. Nott had a surprisingly deep, melodic voice, and Harriet watched as this seemingly taciturn woman embraced her son with all the warmth she would expect of any mother. "Welcome home son."

"Hello Mum." Theo mumbled in response, his cheeks turning pink. Harriet stifled a giggle-he was clearly embarrassed.

The older witch drew back and studied Theo, then tsked as she finally released him. "You should visit more often. You're too thin! What are they feeding you at that school?" Harriet thought this was funny coming from a woman almost as thin as her son, but when Theo didn't respond with more than a light chuckle, she realized that Mrs. Nott's question had been rhetorical. _Ah. This must be one of those ritual things-patterns between mothers and children._ Harriet managed to avoid the old bitterness as she felt herself genuinely happy that Theo had a good relationship with his mother.

The woman gestured at them both to sit again, which Harriet did, heart now in her throat as the woman's dark eyes focused on her again. They weren't as cold as they had been before, but they certainly weren't as warm as they were when they looked at Theo.

There settled over them an uncomfortable silence. Well, uncomfortable to Harriet. She had the distinct impression that Mrs. Nott was deliberately trying to make her uncomfortable. Perhaps it was a test of some kind, to see how she did under pressure. Harriet managed to offer a small smile to the other woman, and counted that a victory. She had fought through life-threatening battles that weren't half as nerve-wracking as locking gazes with Theo's mother. Somehow, she didn't know how, she managed to maintain steady eye contact with the woman for what felt like hours-but was probably only a minute.

Finally-"And you must be Harriet." Mrs. Nott's voice curled around the pair. Unyielding, but not precisely malicious either.

Harriet suddenly released a breath she hadn't know she had been holding. The flash of triumph in Mrs. Nott's eyes made Harriet curse herself inwardly for having such an obvious reaction to the woman. Outwardly she thought she managed to appear neutral and polite fairly well. "Yes. It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Nott." The older woman's eyes flashed with something again, though this time Harriet wasn't sure what name to put to the emotion she saw there. Theo discreetly took her hand, and it was then she felt just how tense she really was. She forced herself to relax as naturally as she could, and even took a steadying breath when Theo's mother looked away from her face to take in their clasped hands.

"Theodore has told me much about you Harriet. I daresay he makes you out to be a veritable queen." Mrs. Nott's thoughts on that were clear in her tone. Harriet flushed, and snuck a quick look at Theo to see that he looked pretty red too.

"Mum..." He murmured, a slight plea in his voice.

Harriet realized she was supposed to respond. "I'm sure Theo was exaggerating whatever he told you," she couldn't resist shooting him an affectionate glance before turning back to Mrs. Nott, "he sees the best in people, and is quite a flatterer." She smirked slightly as Theo's face got redder. When he had first tried to ask her out, Theo had flattered her atrociously. The worst case of well-intentioned foot-in-mouth syndrome she had ever seen. It was endearing.

Harriet's green eyes trailed back to Mrs. Nott, and she could see that the woman's mouth had compressed into a thin line. Inwardly she gulped. Perhaps warming up to Theo's mother would be even harder than she'd thought. She hoped Theo would help her with the conversation.

Almost as if reading her mind, Mrs. Nott spoke directly to her son. "Theodore, there are some refreshments in the kitchen. I've given the house elves the day off-would you mind fetching them for us, dear?"

Theo nodded, "Of course Mum." He gave Harriet's hand a squeeze and murmured, "Be right back." The wizard got up and headed into the kitchen. Harriet desperately tried to quell the panic as she saw that flash of triumph in Mrs. Nott's eyes once again.

The uncomfortable silence was back, and this time Harriet couldn't find the inner fortitude to maintain eye contact with Theo's mum. So instead, she shifted on the uncomfortable antique chair, and took in the room furnishings-while trying desperately not to fidget too much with her hands. She could feel those dark eyes-so like Theo's, and so not-boring into her. Finally she could stand it no longer and her eyes met those of Mrs. Nott. To her surprise the other woman's face, so icy up to this point, actually smiled.

"Harriet, I must apologize for not greeting you very warmly to start. Theo has...not had very much success with girlfriends up to this point. Most have been more interested in his name and pureblood background." Mrs. Nott crossed her legs in a decidedly unladylike fashion and clasped her hands on top of her knee, black eyes not wavering from Harriet's face as the young witch silently absorbed this information. "Please understand that as his mother I am...rather protective."

Harriet managed to nod despite the nerves coiling in her stomach. She could sense that there was something else coming here, and swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat.

"I will not allow my son to be used, Miss Potter. I absolutely will not." Mrs. Nott's voice had become as cold as a winter night, and Harriet's eyes widened as Mrs. Nott seemed to grow larger. "Bear in mind that if you hurt my son, in anyway-first impressions notwithstanding-I will destroy you." Harriet felt her heart drop and her stomach clench, it was brutally clear that Theo's mum was not joking around. "Do not give me reason to come after you, Miss Potter. The Nott family name may be...tarnished...by my husband's foolishness...but we are far from diminished. Do not test it." Harriet swallowed again and barely avoided leaning back in her seat.

When Mrs. Nott didn't speak again, Harriet realized that it was her turn. "Mrs. Nott, please don't worry. It is not my intent to hurt Theo-I care for him very much. As you can imagine, I have enough of my own notoriety-I have no interest in his name or fortune. I am well enough off on my own. I care only for your son, as he is." While nervous and wavering at first, Harriet's voice gained in strength and confidence as she declared her affections and intentions. "Only time will prove my words, but you will see." Mrs. Nott stared hard at Harriet for several tense moments, before relaxing her gaze somewhat and leaning back against the couch she sat upon. Before either could speak again, Theo had entered the room.

The rest of the visit passed innocently enough, but Harriet was relieved when at last they were back at Hogwarts. "It was nice meeting your mum Theo. She really loves you." Harriet commented as Theo walked her toward the Gryffindor common room. It was his habit to walk her most of the way back to her rooms, and sometimes all the way to the Fat Lady. Theo beamed at her.

"I'm glad you like her. Most people I have introduced to her have told me she was really scary. But...well, she's my mum. She's always been there for me, and she always will. She basically raised me alone with my Father gone and all. I respect her alot, you know?" Theo's voice was warm when he spoke of his mother, and Harriet knew she definitely needed to get on Mrs. Nott's good side if she wanted to stay with Theo.

The Slytherin boy stopped and Harriet looked up in surprise to see the Fat Lady looking down on them with a knowing smirk. Time sure had gone by fast. Harriet turned to face Theo and smiled up at him, enjoying the warmth of his dark eyes. "Goodnight Theo. I'll see you at breakfast?" The Slytherin smiled faintly at her and leaned down to claim her lips in a soft, gentle kiss. A goodnight kiss. Harriet returned it and leaned up on tiptoe to press another light kiss to his cheek as he drew reluctantly away.

"At breakfast." He confirmed, voice quiet. Harriet watched him retreat down the corridor for a moment before giving the Fat Lady the password and slipping into her own common room.

It was so late that Harriet found herself quite alone, and she decided to sit on one of the inviting couches before the fire to ruminate over the evening's events.

Meeting Theo's mum had been...well, nerve-wracking, to say the least. She had a feeling that if her father were still alive, he would have had similar words to say to Theo. That thought made her smile. Mrs. Nott was a hard woman, that much was evident, but she clearly loved her son. She hadn't warmed up to Harriet yet though-that would take time, she knew. Harriet sighed and pushed herself to her feet, fatigue weighing her down. She headed up to her own dormitory, ready for sleep. It wasn't until she reached the door that it hit her. " _first impressions notwithstanding"._ That was what Mrs. Nott had said to her, in amongst the threats. Did that mean she had actually made a _good_ first impression? A genuine smile touched her lips as she withdrew into her bedroom.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mrs. Thora Nott was making a list:

_Backbone-check_

_Made nervous by mother-check_

_True affection for Theo-check_

_Not after money-check_

_Not after fame-check_

_Maybe this girl has a chance after all._


End file.
